This is all new to me, am I or aren’t I aphantasic

All of what you wrote fits aphantasia. I take it that the dreams are the thing that’s making you question whether you have it. Aphantasia is an inability to have voluntary visualizations. Dreams and hallucinations are involuntary visualization; those are controlled by a different process, so people with aphantasia can dream and have hallucinations. And while visual people might use visual memory to describe places and give directions, aphantasic people tend to use spacial and conceptual memory to do that; we can accomplish the same thing through different, non-visual means. So yes, your aphantasia sounds very clear-cut to me. 🙂 

Just a note, I’m also autistic, as is my spouse and a bunch of people we know, and we all have tons of empathy. The problem is we don’t always know how to show it, and when people don’t see the expected outward expression, they assume we don’t care, even though we care a lot. When I don’t know what’s the right thing to say, I often end up not saying anything. I also can’t do facial expressions, so I usually just look “neutral” even when I’m feeling strong emotions. The idea that autistic people lack empathy was based on outside observers looking at non-verbal kids who couldn’t tell them what they were actually feeling and thinking on the inside. Newer studies (and better communication aids for non-verbal kids) have found that our empathy is unusually high and can be overwhelming.

I think the single most helpful thing for me, was taking a first aid course, followed by a PFA course (psychological first aid, for helping with emotional trauma) because they tell you exactly what to say to someone who’s hurt, so there’s none of that internal “oh no, oh no, what do I say? what do I do? how can I help?” while standing there frozen with indecision and with a neutral expression like nothing’s going on. I still can’t do facial expressions, but they’ve taught me words and actions to express the empathy I was already feeling. … I’m also reminded of this:

According to recent studies of aphantasia, the appearance of bright or dim images while awake is associated with the activity of two areas of the brain: the visual cortex (in the back of the head) and the prefrontal cortex (behind the eyes). The prevalence of activity in the visual cortex contributes to brighter visualization; the prevalence of prefrontal cortex activity reduces the visualization brightness , even to zero. During sleep, the activity of the prefrontal cortex naturally decreases, which may explain the brightness of uncontrolled dreams. The question is how to learn to control it.

Hi Tony, Yes, I’ve learned a lot of surprising things too, and I find the great variety of experiences fascinating. “It’s always nighttime” is a good way to describe aphantasia. I heard someone else describe it in a similar way, which also underlined the difference between imagination and visualization, something along the lines of, “I have a conceptual imagination, so if you say ‘think of an apple on the table’ then I know there’s an apple on the table, but I can’t see it because the room is dark.”

Autism is a bit of mixed bag, and sometimes it seems like the negatives outweigh the positives, but I can’t think of any downside to aphantasia. Trying meditation was a very frustrating experience, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t need visualizations. I can get to where I want to be in life without that. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything important. On the other hand, some of the things I’ve read suggest that aphantasia may be responsible for the innate tendency to “be in the present moment” and notice the world around me, and I consider that a valuable trait. So, definitely not a bad thing! 

I also love the sound of waves crashing on the shore, and don’t need to see it to appreciate it. 🙂

Well, I’m 68, too, and have only just discovered the concept of aphantasia. And some of the rest of your experience sounds much like mine, too.

I had always assumed that everyone, including myself, could summon up images from the vasty deep. When I saw the expression “mind’s eye”, I assumed that I could see things with it.

In a sense, I could, and can. If I try to visualise a place or person I know, something comes up on the mental screen. But it’s not an image. It seems to be more like a computer programme for producing an image. I know what the image should look like, but I can’t see it. And this surprises me immensely.

I’m not sure that moving on from death or other losses is really linked to aphantasia but, like you, I have no difficulty whilst still feeling deep empathy with living people, and emotional links even with the departed.

My dreams too are vivid and visual, and I find that some of my most vivid images are those that occur in a half-waking state, when I’m either falling asleep or waking up.

But we seem to have differences, too. I am fine with long descriptive passages in literature. I can sense them, but not visualise them as an image, only as a set of instructions for an image. And, when it comes to art (I make no claim to talent), I find it relatively easy to draw an image from memory or imagination. It’s just that I don’t see it until I start drawing.

And one thing is certain. I do have an almost constant internal monologue/dialogue which takes the form of words that I hear and, even though I am incapable of singing in tune, I can hear music in my head until it drives me crazy.

This is a fascinating subject!